Tag Archives: Motorola Xoom

The CyanogenMod blog finally announced the release of its CM9, Release Candidate 1 starting with 37 different devices. The first wave of devices that will be receiving their RC1 build of CyanogenMod 9 ROM include the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Motorola Xoom, Galaxy S2, Galaxy Note, ASUS Transformer and the HTC Sensation.

Watch the list of devices that can benefit from the build get longer quickly. The team made this commitment via its CyanogenMod blog, “As we’ve mentioned before, this release serves as the first wave of RC1′s. With the ‘core’ OS stabilized, our device maintainers will continue to work on their device trees to bring up more devices, this includes some of the newer releases as well as some from the older generations; but we’ll save that for another day,” the team said.

If you love flashing your Android device with a custom ROM, CyanogenMod is one of the most popular ROMs out there. It’s known for being one of the fastest and most stable custom ROMs available.

To see if you’re device has made the release candidate list, head on over to Get.CM now. If you don’t see it there yet, keep checking back.

If you’re into space battles and vaporizing hostile aliens... then Atmo is just the video game for you. Door 6 is the mastermind behind the project and just released it from beta testing. You can download Atmo for free from Google Play.

For those who didn’t get a crack at the Atmo beta, it’s a real-time, multiplayer space combat game. Your team is charged with searching through capsules for a hidden enemy flag, capturing it and bringing it home, all the while fighting to keep your flag out of the clutches of your vile opponents.

Atmo’s 3D graphics are great and ran smoothly in a few tests using the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. The heads-up display keeps you aware of everything around you, yet you don’t ever get disoriented in its fairly open world. This video game can also be played on all major tablets brands including the HTC Flyer and HTC Jetstream, Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Motorola Xoom just to name a few.

Start with Atmo’s tutorial. It will give you an overview of the game’s controls and objectives. You’d better be ready to play. At the end of those 45-seconds of training, you’ll be dropped in the middle of a live game. (Here’s a handy tip to get you started: hold down the fire button to maintain a steady stream of lasers heading toward ships, capsules and whatever else gets in your way.)

The game gives you the option of just jumping in for a quick play, but if you want to track your score’s history, you have to login under your Facebook account. This is a pesky requirement right now, but pretty soon it will be used to team you up with Facebook friends who also want to play the game.

The Door 6 team has quite a few plans for Atmo beyond today’s version. They’ve got a ranking system with a leveling mechanic and achievement rewards, ship customization options, and more sophisticated weapons like unmanned drones. Eventually, the game will morph into a lot more than just a thrill-of-the-destroying-your-enemies game.

Your Apple-toting buddies won’t get left out of the game for long. There’s an iOS version in the works that’s due in the App Store soon.

The game is available for free in Google Play right now. The designers are experimenting with versions where players can earn ship upgrades, or pay for them if they’re desperate. A highly-complex version of the game that would be available for purchase is also in the works.

The founder of one of Europe’s leading illegal movie-streaming sites confessed and apologized for his crimes and got his sentence cut in half by a German judge. Deutsche Welle reported that 39-year-old Kino.to founder “Dirk B.” has been sentenced to 4.5 years in jail. He could have been ordered to spend 11 years in prison, but received a reduced sentence after confessing to his copyright infringement crimes.

Dirk B. will have to pay a $4.7 million fine to cover 1.1 million instances of copyright infringement. While in operation, Kino.to is estimated to have brought in as much as $8 million in advertising revenue.

Most recently, law enforcement officials in Sweden first raided The Pirate Bay in 2006, and the company’s founders were eventually sentenced to jail and forced to pay millions in fines. The service remained online, however, and it is still operational today. “The Swedish district attorney Fredrik Ingblad initiated a new investigation into The Pirate Bay back in 2010. Information has been leaked to us every now and then by multiple sources, almost on a regular basis. It’s an interesting read,” The Pirate Bay said on its blog. “We can certainly understand why WikiLeaks wished to be hosted in Sweden, since so much data leaks there. The reason that we get the leaks is usually that the whistleblowers do not agree with what is going on. Something that the governments should have in mind – even your own people do not agree.”

With the near release of the Asus Transformer Prime and now the leak of the Acer Iconia Tab A700... the next-generation of Android tablets is upon us. With the launch of the Iconia Tab A500 Acer gave direct competition to the Motorola Xoom as a sanctioned Android 3.0 tablet.

Where the Acer Iconia A500 saw marginal success... the Iconia A700 will rule in one major way, at least: by being outfitted with a 10.1 inch 1920×1080 pixel screen. Certainly the highest-quality density tablet screen on the market, the A700 is also expected to arrive early next year with a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 chip inside. The latest trend setting fashionable accessories express your unique style! Discover an extensive array of award-wining design protective cases and skins deliver modern style, stunning design and smart protection. Make your mobile devices stand out. Customize your look - how cool can you be?

For people who go crazy about high definition, the A700 tablet has got a micro-HDMI port. You will also be able to use 3G on the tablet as the A700 features a SIM card slot as well. Users will also be able to take photos and videos on the tablet using the 5 megapixel camera on the tablet, which also has flash. Discover brand name data cables with the advanced designed engineered to work with the latest wireless and mobile devices.

To power up the tablet and to feature all these features and functions on the tablet, Acer has thrown in a 9,800 mAh battery in the tablet. The company promises 10 hours of battery backup on the tablet on one complete charge. With all these features you would think the tablet will be pretty fat and bulky. But in reality, the tablet is said to be thinner and lighter (at 1.43 pounds) when compared to the older Acer Iconia Tab A200. Experience an extensive selection of the latest lithium technology replacement cell phone and wireless devices batteries. Ensure your device is powered by brand name batteries for longer operating life.

Also, the tablet will have the Dolby Digital sound system. This is something which most of the users will love about the tablet. No matter what you do, there is good audio on the tablet for sure. Re-discover music with XMI Speakers. Uncompromised sound quality and a revolutionary design accentuating today's interactive lifestyle. Experience earpieces and headsets that combine sophisticated style and precision engineering that deliver brilliant sound for your total listening pleasure

As long as Acer keeps the material quality high and ships with Android 4.0, the A700 will sure to be a success. The design looks to be cleaner, darker and overall sleeker than its predecessor, and while it may not equal the lithe profile of the Asus, if the price is right people will flock to it. Or, at least, I will. Get powered up for work, life and play easily and conveniently with their collection of desktop chargers, wall chargers and car chargers. Get all the power and energy you need for the mobile lifestyle.

Any guy or gal on the dating scene will emphasize the importance of first impressions. Let's be honest, shopping around for our tech toys and gadgets is a lot like a first date. Good lines? Nice feel? Good fit? Dressed to impress with personality enhancing mobile accessories?

So when checking out the latest Motorola tablets, the DROID XYBOARD 8.2 - it quickly caught our attention and is worth the classic “pros” and “cons” list. In tablet-speak, the physical dimensions are nearing ideal at 8.2 inches. What should have been a beautiful fit in portrait orientation, Motorola made the decision to push a landscape orientation. This strange preferential treatment of landscape is also clear in the Motorola XOOM as well. When hand held,it is a more uncomfortable silhouette to handle than the portrait. Choice of protective case may make a difference in comfort level, but that is a matter of personal preference for consumers. Protect your tablets with the latest innovative fashion design protective bags, sleeves and cases collection.

But, when held in portrait the black bezel is almost too narrow for comfort. Where is the Goldilocks medium? Luckily, the svelte, light size of the tablet negates usage fatigue in the end-user. In fact, the tapered edges, thin body, and overall lightness really make this tablet incredibly attractive. Enhance your mobility... turn your device into a power tool. Discover select accessories specifically designed to make your devices functionally efficient and performance rich.

As any fashionista, this writer will own up to wanting to see equally attractive protective covers, cases, and the like to dress up this tablet. For the home, would like to see other accessories, such as , stylus & pens, docks, chargers, data cables, earpieces & headsets that integrate this kind of purchase into day to day living.

What’s more, the price point for this beauty is enticing at about $249). Agreements with Verizon are available for greater discounts on the device, but as always, look into carrier options and contracts as the long term cost seriously outweighs the upfront additional costs on the device.

Worthy of a second date? Likely. Do your homework and be comforted in the fact that the tablet market is ever growing and not nearly as exclusive / tied to carriers, so your choices are varied!

While the reign of carrier-dedicated smartphones is still in effect, the is a ever-growing contingent of rebel consumers wanting to liberate themselves from the typical long term high cost service contracts only offered by unlocked cell phones. Alas, with this rather feudal system still imposed on consumers, market analysts and watchdog agencies alike continue to monitor and gauge consumer spending and behavior trends what devices will be top sellers this holiday season..

Analyst Mike Walkley and his team ran the numbers - no surprise that Apple’s iPhone 4S came in as the best-selling smartphone across all carriers November. The Samsung Galaxy S II is gaining in popularity and the increase in sales reflects it. The inspired handset was November’s top-selling smartphone at T-Mobile and rocketed to take 2nd place at AT&T and Sprint. The Motorola DROID RAZR is also worth mentioning for its 2nd place showing at Verizon - this writer loves the Gorilla Glass on this handset for us clumsy smartphone owners – iPhone users must have protective cases with the very shatter-prone glass. Data is still being compiled for the BlackBerry 9900 Bold.

To explain the continued sales strength of the iPhone 4S, Walkley explains “strength continues as distribution increases – our November checks indicated iPhone sales remained strong in the US, particularly at ATT&T and Sprint. Further, our checks indicated global share gains.” Global numbers will only grow with Apple introducing its darling to huge markets this December: China, Brazil, and Russia. Analyst also predict a strong consumer and market acceptance for tablets... in particular the Apple iPad 3G, Samasung Galaxy Tab, Motorola Xoom, HTC Jetstream with the BlackBerry PlayBook bringing up the rear.

Paired with the analyst’s report of the apple iPad2 retaining its billing of “world’s top-selling tablet,” this news is great for online retailers. Designer protective cases & bags, skins, stylus & pens, and even screen protectors are hot must-haves that the global consumer will jump on. Thanks to the world wide web and globalization, their online shopping options seriously opens up their ability to customize their devices with accessories.

Unfortunately, good news for Apple and Samsung does not translate into good news for their competitors. RIM and HTC, both who have seen their sales and product demand decrease after the iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy S II launches. With negative reception of product pre-announcements by both RIM and HTC, a little rebranding, positive press and innovative accessories and technology developments are in order.

The holiday race is far from over though and the unlocked smartphone consumer market could easily help make up the difference for these lagging device manufacturers. Something we hope they keep in mind when brainstorming a comeback.

After some challenges with a first generation tablet, Motorola is unleashing its Xoom 2 in an attempt to garner a greater share of of the tablet market. At the moment Apple’s iPad is undeniably dominant and synonymous with “tablet.”

Armed with Honeycomb platform, the first edition Xoom was the first to market for the Android OS tablet. Based on industry reviews and tepid sales, Motorola may have been better served by taking its time developing a tablet that could better compete with the competition that was right on its heels. The Xoom contemporaries (such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1) stole the show with their faster speeds, sleeker look, and just plain sexier.

So has Motorola taken notes? It appears so. Xoom2 is indeed faster, sleeker, and generally less cumbersome (slimming down from 1.5 lbs to an oh-so-svelte .22 lbs). Scrapping the original screen, the reincarnated version boasts a Gorilla Glass-coated IPS screen that delivers 178 degree viewing angles (a la Droid Razr which is a dream to hold). Beware the copious smudges. Carry a cleaning cloth - an easy accessory to pick up with your additional tablet protective accessories.

There are micro-HDMI and mico-USB ports and the ease of multi-media integration is lovely, but they seemed to forget an SD option entirely. Storage limitations are also a consideration with 16 GB limit at the moment- to appease customers concerned with gigabytes, check the other tablet options to meet your unique needs. Enhance your mobility... turn your device into a power tool. Discover our select electronic accessories specifically designed to make your devices functionally efficient and performance rich

The Xoom2 may very well be the perfect tablet for some consumer’s... who can optimize device efficiency with stylus pen accessories, glider gloves for touch screen, extended battery life, and other fun gadgets. But, like any major purchase, it is best to do the research and take a few contenders out for a test drive.

Unfortunately, this market shifts at breakneck pace and has little room for manufacturers who can’t keep up and innovate and Motorola’s Xoom2 doesn’t quite meet the cutting edge quota (especially when considering cost and a dual-core). When compared to tablet industry darlings that flaunt a quad core and a perfect marriage of technology and beauty… Xoom2 loses luster.

To summarize the Xoom 2 is a stylish successor to the original Honeycomb tablet. The build quality is much improved, and Motorola is on the right track with those oddly shaped corners and built-in IR emitter. There has been an explosion in Honeycomb tablets since the first Xoom launched, and while the sequel does plenty right, it isn't enough to claim the head seat at the Android tablet family table. Fortunately, the Xoom 2 has bypassed Moto's tendency to over-tinker with the core Android experience on its phones, resulting in a pretty reliable tablet, although it still behaved erratically with video content. View the innovative protective solutions and premium electronic accessories from the industry's most leading brands